The soccer ball rolled towards Timmy. They were down 0-1. Timmy slowly dribbled the soccer ball towards the corner of the box. The defenders bolted towards Timmy. They tackled Timmy, but accidentally clipped his ankle. The referee raised his hand indicating a penalty kick. Timmy shuddered as he got up and brushed the grass off of his shoulder.

Timmy was never confident about scoring, especially in front of this rowdy crowd. Timmy went up to Coach Davis and he told him about this dilemma. Coach Davis was forced to put Manny into the game for the penalty kick. Manny confidently strode up to the ball. The whistle blew and Manny kicked the ball so hard that it flew right through the goalie’s hands. GOAL!!!!

Timmy watched from the sideline as Manny led the team to a 2-1 victory. After the game, Manny set up a huddle, saying “Good game guys. We have to work on some things, but we got the win!” Timmy nodded on as Manny continued. “Number One on three. One, Two, Three!” Manny yelled. “Number One!” everyone exclaimed.

Before Timmy reached the van, Manny ran up to him. “Bro, don’t worry about what happened today. I’m better than you, but you can always be the next man up,” he said. Timmy tried to ignore Manny, but Manny continued pestering him. Finally, Timmy told Manny that he had to get going and quickly walked away.

The Flaming Dragons continued to crush their competition. In March, they were undefeated. Manny led the team to five consecutive victories. Most of them were not even close! Manny quickly established his role as the team captain. The regional championship trophy was theirs for the taking. The weekend tournament was a three game slate. The Flaming Dragons only had to win two more games in the weekend tournament. Manny knew he could do it, but he wanted to make sure his team could keep up with him.

On the other hand, Timmy was not looking forward to the weekend tournament. Coach Davis had cut his minutes from fifty to ten. In practice, Timmy would always hesitate when shooting and this would lead him to lose possession of the ball to the defense. After practice, Manny would always yell at him to get better. Manny would scream about how Timmy doesn’t put enough effort in practice. Timmy would stay silent and nod with his head down.

Finally, it was the day of the tournament. Manny jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs. He was ready for the tournament. He knew he was going to score at least three goals today, and he hoped his teammates  wouldn’t ruin his chances of winning the regional championship.

Timmy didn’t want to play in the tournament. Timmy tried to act sick and miss the game altogether, however his mom could see through his antics. Eventually, Timmy got up and packed his bag, preparing for a long day.

The team was ready to go. Coach Davis reminded them to play with unity and to never forget their sportsmanship. After the huddle, Manny came up to Timmy. “Don’t feel bad about not playing. I brought us to this tournament and I’ll win it, too. You just sit tight and cheer,” Manny said.

The Dragons quickly fell into formation on the field against the Soaring Eagles and the referee blew the whistle. Manny immediately led the team to a 2-0 lead. By halftime, the Dragons were absolutely destroying the Eagles. Then, everything fell apart. After the whistle, the Eagles quickly scored two points and tied up the game. Manny tried everything he could, but he just couldn’t get through the Eagle defense.

In the eightieth minute, the Dragons were called for a yellow card. The Eagles had a chance for a free kick. Gerald, their star player, took three steps and kicked the ball with such ferocity that it smashed into the back of the net. The referee blew his whistle three times. That was it. The Flaming Dragons had just lost 3-2 to one of the worst teams in the tournament.

Manny was livid. He immediately began to yell at his teammates for giving up. “I put us in a situation to win and you guys blew it!”, Manny exclaimed. “I always put my best foot forward, but you guys can never keep up!”

Coach Davis had had enough. “Manny sit down before I call your parents to take you home! Timmy you are our starting striker from now on,” said Coach. The arrogance and ego Manny displayed had made the Flaming Dragons a weaker and more vulnerable Team. Coach Davis had recognized this and he knew he had to do something to right the sinking ship before it was too late. Coach took off Manny’s team captain status and made Timmy the team captain.

Manny sulked away. Everybody was relieved that Timmy was their leader again. They knew that Timmy was a team player, unlike Manny.

The day of the game against the Raging Lions rolled around. Timmy knew he had to be confident for his team. He couldn’t afford to hesitate. This was his chance to become the leader of the team. In the huddle, Timmy exclaimed, “We are going to beat the Raging Lions as a team. United on Three. One. Two. THREE!” “UNITED!” the Flaming Dragons roared.

Timmy could feel the butterflies in his stomach. Coach Davis pulled him aside and said, “I’ve always believed in you. Be confident in your abilities and in the team’s abilities. I know you’ll be a great leader! Go out there and shine!” Timmy nodded and walked onto the pitch.

Timmy was extremely nervous. He turned his head and looked at the crowd. He felt as if he was facing the entire Roaring Lions alone. Then, he looked at his teammates. They were smiling and supporting him. Benny came up to Timmy and said, “Don’t worry Timmy. We are always here for you.” Timmy began to calm down. Then the whistle blew and Timmy completely forgot about the butterflies in his stomach.

This time it was Manny’s turn to sit on the bench and watch. He saw Timmy expertly handle the ball and score with ease. Each time Timmy touched the ball, Manny became more and more furious until he could not hold it back any further. “Coach, the team needs me out there. We can’t win the championship with Timmy!”